Eclipse
by suzie2b
Summary: When the day went dark.


**Disclaimer:** _ **The Rat Patrol**_ **is not my property. They come out to play sometimes, then I send them home.**

 **Author's note: This was inspired by the total solar eclipse that took place on 8/21/2017. My husband and I were fortunate enough to head south and view it in Pacific City, Oregon. It was AWESOME!**

 **Eclipse**

 **By Suzie2b**

 **Moffitt had finally gotten a chance to read the letter he'd received from his father the day they'd left base for the Rat Patrol's latest mission. That was three days ago. Now he read to himself as he ate lunch with Troy, Hitch, and Tully in the cover provided by a fairly lush waterhole.**

 **Tully looked at the smile on the sergeant's face and asked, "Good news from home?"**

 **Moffitt glanced up for a moment, then said, "Just gossip mostly. There is one thing though. There's to be a solar eclipse tomorrow. My father thinks we should be in the perfect place to view it in totality."**

 **Hitch said, "Wow! A total eclipse of the sun. I saw a partial eclipse once when I was a kid. My dad made a pinhole projector so we could watch it."**

 **Tully asked, "Do you think we can take the time to see it, sarge?"**

 **Troy replied, "If the Germans will let us, I don't see why not."**

 **Hitch said, "But we don't have a pinhole projector. And we can't watch it without one."**

 **Tully smiled. "I bet I can make one."**

" **Have you ever seen one before?"**

" **No, but you have." Tully looked at Moffitt. "What time is the eclipse supposed to start?"**

 **Moffitt smiled. "According to the letter, just before noon."**

 **##################**

 **That evening when they stopped for the night, Moffitt chose to take first watch so Hitch and Tully could work on their little project before dinner.**

 **First they made a sort of tube by taping together the K-ration boxes from lunch with duct tape. Hitch got a blank sheet of paper from the map bag and with a bit of folding and taping, he and Tully managed to get it fitted to one end of the tube.**

 **Then Hitch said, "We need some foil."**

 **Tully handed the tube to his friend. "I have a piece."**

 **While he went to the jeep, Hitch proceeded to cut a viewing holes in two sides of the tube just above where they'd taped down the paper. He looked up when Tully returned with a piece of tinfoil. "Where'd that come from?"**

 **Tully smiled. "It's what those cookies we had yesterday were wrapped in."**

 **They fitted the foil on the open end of the tube and taped it in place. Then Hitch said, "Now we have to put a hole in the middle of the foil."**

" **There might be something in one of the med kits we can use."**

 **Troy, who had been watching the two privates with amusement, said, "How about your sewing kit? A sewing needle should work."**

 **Hitch grinned. "That'll be perfect."**

 **Tully quickly got his sewing kit from the jeep and took one of the needles out. He made a small hole in the middle of the foil, then Hitch held the tube up so the sinking sun hit the foil. A tiny beam of light shone on the paper at the other end. "It works!"**

 **Tully smiled. "Let me see."**

 **As the two young privates checked out the small circle of light, Troy chuckled. "Okay, how about you two start some dinner."**

 **##################**

 **The next day, as the Rat Patrol was making their way across open desert, they came across a German scout column. Troy and Moffitt quickly climbed into the back of the jeeps to man the 50s as Hitch and Tully split to engage the enemy.**

 **Twenty minutes later, they had sent what was left of the column speeding away. They headed for a hill to find cover and check for damage.**

 **As they got out of the jeeps, Troy asked, "Anyone hit?"**

 **Moffitt shook his head. "We're fine here."**

" **Okay, check over the jeeps for damage."**

 **Hitch looked at his watch and said excitedly, "Hey, it's 12:01! The eclipse has started!"**

 **Tully quickly reached into the back of the jeep for the pinhole projector. What he brought out was a cardboard tube that had been destroyed by a stray bullet. He looked devastated.**

 **Hitch stepped up next to his friend. "Maybe we can fix it real quick."**

 **Tully sighed and shook his head sadly. "All the duct tape in the world isn't gonna fix this."**

 **Troy said, "Sorry, Tully. It would've worked if we hadn't gotten into that firefight."**

 **Hitch said, "I was really looking forward to seeing the eclipse."**

 **Tully nodded as he dropped the tube back in the jeep. "So was I."**

 **Troy said, "Well, we may as well get going."**

 **Moffitt suddenly smiled. "Wait, I have an idea." He hurried to the jeep and came back with the binoculars. Moffitt got on his knees and angled the lens you would normally put to your eyes to catch the sun. Sure enough, he could see the eclipse happening on the sand. "Look at this."**

 **Four grown men were on their knees in the sand, taking turns holding the binoculars, as they silently watched the eclipse in awe. An hour and a half later it entered totality, the desert fell into a sort of silent twilight, and they could finally look at the spectacle with their eyes.**

 **Tully said quietly, "It looks like a ring of white fire."**

 **Hitch whispered, "This is nothing like the partial I saw before."**

 **Troy said, "The temperature has dropped at least twenty degrees."**

 **Moffitt just grinned as he looked up into the sky. He could think of no words to do justice to what he saw.**

 **After about two minutes, the moon began to shift down to start revealing the sun again. For a moment, before they had to look away, the light seemed to dance like reflections through diamonds.**

 **The entire eclipse, from start to finish, lasted just under three hours. When it was over, Troy, Moffitt, Hitch, and Tully got to their feet slowly. They looked at each other silently, their emotions showing in the faces. A full minute went by before they got into their jeeps and headed for home.**


End file.
